The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, has decided to apologize after rumors surfaced on social media that it had pressured actress Rebel Wilson to reveal his relationship with a woman.
Social columnist Andrew Hornary acknowledged an embarrassment in his newspaper’s approach, with Ms Wilson, who until then had only had relationships with men, specifically trying to reveal that she was in a relationship with designer Ramona Agroma.
SMH, often regarded as Australia’s leading newspaper, gave the actress two days on Thursday to talk about a relationship hitherto unknown to the general public.
But Ms Wilson, who revealed in the ‘Pitch Perfect’ saga, announced her relationship on Instagram on Friday and posted a selfie with Ms Agruma, calling her ‘Disney Princess’.
“Big mistake. Wilson chose the torpedo to post an article about his new ‘Disney Princess’ on Instagram early Friday morning,” Mr. Hornery mentioned in his weekly column on Saturday that he wanted to spill the scoop.
The article sparked outrage on social media. Many LGBT activists and other Internet users have accused the newspaper of forcing Ms Wilson to leave.
The Herald initially denied any pressure on Mrs Wilson, promising that its editor, Bevan Shields, was Wilson’s new colleague, but that he “asked only questions”.
Ms Wilson responded Sunday to a journalist who was outraged on Twitter over the SMH position.
“It’s a very difficult situation, but I tried to handle it sensitively,” the actress tweeted.
On Monday, the Sydney Morning Herald removed an article from its website and published Mr Hornery’s apology to the actress. The journalist assured her that he had “never intended to threaten her” to reveal his sexuality.
The columnist says: “I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. That’s not what I always meant. “
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